Over the years, after talking with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, artists and creatives, almost every success story we’ve heard has been filled with stories of failure. Unfortunately, in our view the media rarely covers these parts of the story – instead we often read summaries that make it seem like success happened “overnight.” However, what we’ve learned in our conversations with so many successful folks is that failure is core ingredient in the recipe for future success. Below, we’ve shared some fascinating stories of failure from folks who have ultimately found great success.
Sophia Malek
I came up with my concepts in 2016… I launched in 2023. I had such a deep rooted fear of failure around my concept, it held me back from starting for so long. I really believe timing is everything- I had to go through all the experiences I did in those 7 years to be ready to start Bad Nutrition. Once I did launch, there were so many moments of what felt like failure! Our first production shift was 17 hours with my husband… so, incredibly brutal. I didn’t think I’d be able to make the concept work. It really beat me down. Read More>>
Jose “hzy” Portales
One of the most challenging times in my life was when I let alcohol take control after going through a period of my life where things just weren’t the way they were supposed to be after things took quite a turn. It started as a way to cope, but it quickly spiraled into something that consumed me entirely. Read More>>
Carrie Freeman
Mission and Market: What We Learned from Trying to Do Both. When you’re a mission-driven services company, it’s easy for others to mistake you for a non-profit. At SecondMuse, founded as a for-profit LLC, we always believed business can and should address the world’s toughest challenges. This conviction led us to become B Corp certified in 2015—a recognition that aligned our operations with our values of accountability and stakeholder-driven impact. Read More>>
Bahar Bahrkazemi
I was working for a film post production company and by covide pandemic they cut 90% of their employees and I was one of them, I’ve thought I’ll start work at least in 2 months and I failed. I couldn’t find job that’s suitable for me and I was jobless about 1 year. For a person like me it wasn’t acceptable. How I can’t find a proper job? In that year my mom got sick and we were taking care of her. Read More>>
Consuelo Velazco-sosa
I live in a very small town in Iowa, most people when you tell them we are from Iowa, they say what’s Iowa? I have been in the hair industry on and off for about 14 years. Always quitting for all the wrong or right reasons still not sure. In 2019 I married a Wonderfull man that built a small salon inside our home. He said only work on family and friends. His idea was I would leave my full time job to stay more at home and have the hair business as a small side business. Read More>>
Pamala Brooks
I do. Before I was called to create Simply Melanated, LLC, I ran “BNLS Store,” an online retail and apparel shop inspired by professional notaries public, paralegals, and other industry professionals of color. I sold t-shirts, tote bags, wall clocks, pillows, and other items that depicted women of color in an elegant, artistic light. Read More>>